1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to packet processing, and in particular, to packet segmentation and reassembly in information technology networks.
2. Description of Related Art
In information technology networks, switching devices direct packets. A switching device redirects incoming data on one network node, out to another network node. Latency in such a network includes the time required for a packet to traverse the network from a source (transmitter) to a destination (receiver). One component of latency involves segmentation and reassembly of network packets in a networking switch.
A segmentation module performs segmentation of network packets. Segmentation comprises fragmenting a packet, such as a variable length packet, into fixed packet fragments to be transported across a network. Thereafter, the packet fragments are reassembled to reconstitute the original packet.
All the fragments of specific packets are called member packet fragments of that packet. A header is provided for each packet fragment. The header is formed from packet pre-classification information added by an ingress packet processor. A packet context is a buffer (i.e., packet buffer context) where member packet fragments which completely match the criteria of membership of a packet are put together. Logic to perform segmentation and reassembly is time consuming and adds significant latency in packet forwarding in the network.